Player The blessed howl's moving Castle of Stephon Javonte

scott said:
I always appreciate when graphs like these are broken into tiers, which BB-Index did not do, so I went ahead and did it.

Stephon obviously grades out as elite by this metric, but it is nice to see Dylan and Fox both grade out in that slight-above-average tier. Really bodes well for Dylan's prospects to elevate to those elite level tiers one day. It's so huge that Fox isn't a complete liability like some other scoring guards.

View attachment 925
Click to expand...
Gotta give Steph credit, looking at the guys in his tier Castle is easily to most promising/has the most offensive load to carry.
 
Sugus said:
Crazy that we have a top-of-the-league perimeter defender, and also have the likely DPOY paint protector. This may not be the Spurs' year to win it all (or maybe yes)......... But they sure are cooking with gas.

Btw, anyone remember the "Spurs have the worst defense in the league" thread on ST? Would love to give it a bump now that the Spurs are one of the top defenses... Many people acted like we'd never recover :st-lol:
Click to expand...
It was "Spurs have the worst defense in NBA history", which was true for raw DRtg (120.0 in 2022-2023) but not if measured by # of standard deviations above the mean for that year. It has also been surpassed by the Jazz (120.4 in 2023-2024 and 2024-2025), and three teams currently have DRtg above 120.0, including the Jazz at 122.4.
 
Ice009 said:
If he wanted the money and lifestyle, why wouldn't he want more money and more of the lifestyle? Why cut it so short when he still has skills and athleticism by not playing for a few year stretch (I haven't watched him play in years, though)? If he could still play and gave up already, he's one of the biggest losers around and it seems he has less confidence in shooting the ball that almost anyone else I've ever seen. I'd kill to have had his athleticism and height. What a waste of talent. From what I remember, his dad was a good player (I didn't follow his team or anything). I watched his dad play in AU in the NBL, and from what I remember (I don't remember fully as I was too young, so I could be wrong), his dad seemed like he cared when he played.
Click to expand...
You used to be able to coast through three contracts on talent and ability. Now, with the second apron in place,you’ve got to contribute towards winning. Counting stats aren’t enough.
 
Seventyniner said:
It was "Spurs have the worst defense in NBA history", which was true for raw DRtg (120.0 in 2022-2023) but not if measured by # of standard deviations above the mean for that year. It has also been surpassed by the Jazz (120.4 in 2023-2024 and 2024-2025), and three teams currently have DRtg above 120.0, including the Jazz at 122.4.
Click to expand...
Oh, I know it was true at the time, I just vividly remember many posters saying it was more an indictment on the Spurs' future than a result of their tanking strategy, and worrying that not even Wemby would be enough to "ever right the ship" or something to that effect.

Makes it funny to remember in retrospect now that the Spurs are top-10 in both offense and defense. People were really acting like the Spurs were fundamentally challenged defensively beyond hope.
 
memphis-grizzlies-tony-allen.gif
 
The most consequential event in this Spurs rebuild after landing the #1 Wembanyama pick was Atlanta, Washington, and Houston fucking up and not taking Stephon Castle.

His point of attack defense is so vital.
 
Anyone else think he has such a “signature” style on offense? The same way that kyrie would cross people up, I think Castle has that same visual appeal that casuals love. I think he’s going to be a household name soon.
 
Defense A+

Is it me or does the offensive side annoy others too? I yell at the tv a lot during Castles’ Adventures.
 
Dude was basically built in a lab to defend guys like Cade and SGA. He's just as big and just as strong as they are (or stronger), he's too smart to fall for most of their fakes, they can't out-athlete him, they're not outrunning him like smaller speedier guards, neither is a high volume pullup 3 point shooter to get him to overcommit.

In Detroit's case, Cade is their head of the snake, so Spurs are a horrible matchup for them. OKC at least has JDub and Ajay Mitchell to act as release valves.
 
STAT88 said:
Like a lot of people have been saying for about a month now, when Castle plays the role he did tonight he is incredibly valuable. Lockdown defender, and on offense a 15 point scorer with a usage around 15-20%. Perfect for his archetype and current skillset. Now he just needs to focus on the catch and shoot 3, and cutting off ball, mix in the occasional initiator and focus energy on defense.

When he’s the primary ball handler and initiator with a usage of 25% (his season average) or even above 20%, well he’s just a flat out net negative because he doesn’t have the offensive game to be a positive with that much usage.

Good to see the coaching staff finally adjusting. Let’s hope they don’t revert back.

These on off numbers are still disgusting, but hopefully they can improve with a reduced role on offense.

View attachment 601
Click to expand...

The offense with Castle on the court is really starting to get significantly better compared to 4 weeks ago. Defense as elite as ever.

Good progress.

IMG_1330.webp
 
Hawks not drafting Castle who was born 38 miles away from downtown Atlanta and went to HS there :st-lol: (especially after getting bullied by Sarr's camp to pass up on him)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

TDomination
Analysis Brian Windhorst: “Spurs are a playoff contender”
7 8 9
Replies
206
Views
6K
LeBowen
LeBowen
scott
CALL YOUR SHOT: The 2025-26 BaselineBums Bold Predictions Thread
2
Replies
38
Views
961
Guru of Nothing
Guru of Nothing
scott
Player The restricted-age video store section of Dylan Harper
38 39 40
Replies
979
Views
29K
spurraider21
spurraider21
scott
Analysis GRADES: 12/31/2025 - Spurs 134 Knicks 132
Replies
1
Views
139
Area 51.247
A
LeBowen
Analysis Spurs draft assets, cap situation and future projections
2 3 4
Replies
92
Views
4K
DTW
D
Back
Top